Check
out our NEW FREE online resources, including the SQ3R
sheet for reading
and the Paragraph
Graphic Organizer for writing. These are forms you
can fill in online and print, or have your students fill them in
and print them for class!

Talk about your hard workers! Band groups are
awesome when it comes to putting forth the effort it takes for
fundraising success. The key is making sure they have the right
fundraiser that will leverage all that energy.

In this article, we'll consider three band fundraisers that:
*Take some effort
*Are perfect for medium-sized groups
*Produce excellent results

Citrus Fruit:
One band fundraiser that fits the easy fundraiser formula is
selling cases of citrus fruit shipped direct from the Florida
groves.

Here, the band members use an order-taker brochure to explain
the offering to prospective supporters.

You really need to go door-to-door or sell from a merchant
table to achieve the kind of numbers where you'll raise
substantial funds. This is perfect for a band group with
enough members to canvass entire neighborhoods by working in
pairs.

Customers can choose from Navel Oranges, Tangelos, Tangerines,
Red Grapefruits, and mixed cartons. Order sizes range from ten
pounds all the way up to forty pounds.

A common size is 2/5 of a bushel or 20 pounds. Generally, you
can expect to pay roughly $8 for this size and make a profit
of $4 each. These are rough prices because citrus fruit can
vary in price based on weather patterns and availability.

Citrus fruit is a wintertime offering with availability best
between mid-November through mid-April. There are discounts
for large orders and bonuses for ordering a whole truckload.

Christmas Wreaths:
Another band fundraiser that's a good fit is selling Christmas
wreaths via an order-taker brochure.

It's another late fall fundraiser that takes advantage of a
holiday "must have" decoration.

Since they're made fresh, you can get an early jump on the
retail stores and conduct your fundraiser as an order taker
before Thanksgiving.

There are a number of offerings in addition to the traditional
door wreath.

Profits are approximately 40% of the selling price on most
items, so it makes a great band fundraiser because the total
revenue is high.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how quickly your
band profits can add up with an aggressive marketing campaign.
You need to set some high goals for each band member, such as
ten sales each before Thanksgiving.

Delivery is easy, with each wreath sealed in a plastic bag to
preserve freshness. Get your orders in early and allow two
weeks minimum for delivery.

Coffee Fundraiser:
A third band fundraiser that produces great results is a
coffee sale. Like the other two fundraisers we've already
discussed, a large selection of pre-bagged coffee products are
sold via an order-taker brochure.

Your supporters can select from twenty or more flavors. Most
suppliers have small "dollar bags" or the better
selling half-pound package.

Usually, the cost for a half pound of quality coffee is $3,
and the retail price is $5 or $6. You can offer a choice of
whole bean, or ground varieties.

The idea here is to tap into the market for something that
almost every household buys regularly, then expand upon it
with multiple flavors.

Their names conjure up images of a cup of coffee wafting
delicious aromas throughout the kitchen - flavors like
Hazelnut, Toasted Almond, Hawaiian Coconut, Butterscotch, or
Morning Glory.

Again, success is best achieved by presenting your offering to large
numbers of prospective supporters. Set up a table at any event that
draws a large crowd. Offer samples from tiny paper cups. Get the word
out to as many people as you can.

Your band group works hard. Make sure you pick a band fundraiser that
works just as hard by being impossible to resist.

There
are six modules designed to test the basic ability of an
individual in terms of Memory & Concentration. Needless to
say this is the most important basic skill for not just to
survive but also to thrive in this competitive environment.
Each of the six modules tests the six variants of Memory &
Concentration in an individual, namely:

1.

Picture
recognition

2.

Paired Associate
Learning

3.

Immediate Recall

4.

Serial processing

5.

Parallel
processing

6.

Recognition and
Recall

Each
of these modules runs at three different levels, from easy to
difficult.

At each level, the individual's performance is depicted as
Scores Obtained.

A feedback has been built into the software for all these 18
levels depending on the marks one scores during the
test.

Each individual can assess his/her performance any time by
clicking on "history", which gives complete details
of date and time of taking the tests, marks scored each time
and even time taken to do the test. This builds the confidence
level and encourages more participation to eventually
culminate in improvement and enhancement of memory and
concentration.

Essentially, this software is a SELF AWARENESS tool that
surely motivates the individual to realize one's capability
and seek or be receptive for improvement. Also, if repeatedly
done over a period of time works as Training tool to enhance
their capability.

This
software package is specifically designed to help young
children to learn basic skills that will help them in
school. Continued follow-up will give these young
learners success as they mature.

Three versions of the software exist:
Individual Software on either CD or Online, Family
Version Software, and an Institutional Software package.

StarTeaching wholeheartedly supports
and endorses this software. It will make a difference
with your child or student.

A while back I wrote about Web 2.0 and what
it was all about. It's now time to revisit this issue and get more
practical about its use.

To refresh your memory, Web 1.0 was basically static. You went to the
Internet to get written information or pictures. The only interaction
you had with the Internet was the reading you did. Along came Web 2.0,
and with it a move from static to interactive. Today, you are no longer
just a consumer, but can become a producer as well. Students today see
the Internet as a part of them and their daily lives as they interact
with it. So how can we make it a part of the everyday classroom?

1. Documents-In our school, a student opens up Microsoft Word and
works on their document. When they save it, it goes into their network
file until they need it later. The problem with this is, what if they
want to work on it later at home? Sorry, it can't be done. Or what about
the student that does work on a document at home and then emails it to
school. Once at the school they can't open it up properly because of the
application they used at home. How about moving from one system to
another, meaning from Linux to Mac to PC? This causes plenty of
headaches. What if I told you all this could be solved. We are beginning
to shift our students to Web 2.0 applications. All my students have
opened an iGoogle account. It's free and easy to do.

step 1-open google
step 2-choose Sign in at the upper right
step 3-then choose Create an account now at the middle right

Once you've opened an account, make sure you confirm the email. In your
iGoogle account choose Add Stuff at the top right. Then type in google
in the Search for Gadgets section. Choose Google Docs. Make
sure you are using Foxfire, Internet Explorer, or Safari 3.0 for your
browser. Once set up you are now ready to compose and save any documents
you want. All the problems of before will be gone. A student can get to
their work any time and print it from any computer.

The account also has Spreadsheet and Presentation
applications. These don't have all the bells and whistles of Microsoft
Office, but they do the job. Another place to go is www.zoho.com.
Once again, it is free and has even more applications. Both Google and
Zoho are continuing to improve their applications.

2. Blogs-Blog is short for Web Log. The best way to describe it
is an online journal. You, as the teacher could post and have students
comment on it. Research has shown that students write better when they
know others will see it. That has certainly been the case when I've done
blogs. There are many sites out there, but the one I use is www.classblogmeister.com.This
site is designed for teachers. A student's blog is not published until
you, the teacher, has approved it. You can make comments and then send
it back for editing before it is published. The other thing is, you can
teach students how to make good comments on other blogs. Once again,
these comments don't go anywhere until you've approved them.

3. Videos-Have students make videos on what they've learned and
upload them to www.teachertube.com.
Make a How to video and make it available for your students to use. The
good thing is the fact that this is not a site that's blocked in
schools.

4. Wiki-I know you are probably saying, what is that? A wiki is a
collaborative tool where students can work together on the same project
at the same time. Create a wiki and participants can go to the wiki at
their convenience to add, change, and edit content. You can add images
and web-links to the document. There are many sites available for this.
I've used http//voicethread.com/#home
. This is a site for K-12 educators to use with their students. The
difference that this site offers is voice. Check out the site to see
examples of what can be done with the students. This is a site for even
the younger students to use and be creative.

We live in a different world where the Internet is a vital part of it.
I've only touched on some of the possibilities. We, as educators,
need to bring real world application into our classrooms, instead of
turning our students off to learning with our 20th century ways. Check
it out and give it a chance, because your students will be more engaged,
and with proper engagement comes learning.

Mark Benn earned his B.S. from Western
Michigan University and his Elementary Certification from
Northern Michigan University. He is a 20 year teaching
veteran of 5th and 6th grade students at Inland Lakes Middle
School in Indian River, MI. He is currently working on
Masters of Integration of Technology from Walden University.

Prior to teaching, Mark spent 11 years as Department Manager for
Sears, Roebuck and Co. dealing with emerging technologies.
He has been married to his wife Bonnietta for 32 years with one
daughter and two sons. In the summers, Mark works for
Mackinac State Historic Parks in the as a historical
interpreter.

The phrase "obsessive-compulsive" has worked
its way into the wider English lexicon, and is often used in an offhand
manner to describe someone who is meticulous or absorbed in a must have
either obsessions or compulsions alone, or obsessions and compulsions,
according to the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria. The Quick Reference to
the diagnostic criteria from DSM-IV-TR (2000) describes these obsessions
and compulsions:

Obsessions are defined by:1. Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that
are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and
inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.

2. The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply
excessive worries about real-life problems.

3. The person attempts to ignore or suppress such
thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other
thought or action.

4. The person recognizes that the obssesed thoughts,
impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind.

Compulsions are defined by:1. Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels
driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules
that must be applied rigidly.

2. The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing
or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation;
however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a
realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or
are clearly excessive.

In addition to these criteria, at some point during the
course of the disorder, the sufferer must realize that his/her
obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable or excessive. Moreover, the
obsessions or compulsions must be time consuming (taking up more than
one hour per day), cause distress, or cause impairment in social,
occupational, or school functioning. OCD often causes feelings similar
to that of depression.

Bobby Rcci sometimes does. Modern research has revealed
that OCD is much more common than previously thought. An estimated 1 in
50 adolescents and adults are thought to have OCD. However, because of
the condition's personal nature, and the lingering stigma that surrounds
it, there may be many unaccounted-for OCD sufferers, and the actual
percentages could be even higher.

The typical OCD sufferer performs tasks (or compulsions)
to seek relief from obsession related anxiety. To others, these tasks
may appear odd and unnecessary. But for the sufferer, such tasks can
feel critically important, and must be performed in particular ways to
ward off dire consequences and to stop the stress from building up.
Examples of these tasks: repeatedly checking that one's parked car has
been locked before leaving it; turning lights on and off a set number of
times before exiting a room; repeatedly washing hands at regular
intervals throughout the day.

Symptoms may include some, all or perhaps none
of the following:Repeated hand-washing.

One serious symptom which stems from this is
"counting" your steps, e.g. you must take twelve steps to the
car in the morning.

Perfectly aligning objects at complete, absolute right
angles, etc. This symptom is shared with OCPD and can be confused with
this condition unless it is realized that in OCPD it is not
stress-related.

Having to "cancel out" bad thoughts with
good thoughts. Examples of bad thoughts are:

Imagining harming a child, and having to imagine a child
playing happily to cancel it out.

Unwanted sexual thoughts. Two classic examples are fear
of being homosexual or fear of being a pedophile. In both cases,
sufferers will obsess over whether or not they are genuinely aroused by
the thoughts.

A fear of contamination; some sufferers may fear the
presence of human body secretions such as saliva, sweat, tears, or
mucus, or excretions such as urine or feces. Some OCD sufferers even
fear that the soap they're using is contaminated.

A need for both sides of the body to feel even. A person
with OCD might walk down a sidewalk and step on a crack with the ball of
their left foot, then feel the need to step on another crack with the
ball of their right foot. Also, if one hand gets wet, the sufferer may
feel very uncomfortable if the other is not.

There are many other possible symptoms, and one need not
display those above to suffer from OCD. It is important to remember that
one must be diagnosed by a doctor to officially suffer from OCD in
medical terms; furthermore, possessing the symptoms above is not an
absolute sign of OCD.

Part mystery, part science fiction, Year
of the Dogman is an imaginative, compelling, and adrenaline-pumping
adventure. Author Frank Holes, Jr. takes no prisoners in creating a
diabolical creature that leaves the forest to prey on the hapless hamlet
of
Twin
Lakes
in
Northern Michigan
. When night falls, the nocturnal beast, Dogman, scares the living
daylights out of anyone he happens upon as he searches for a timeless
treasure stolen from a Native American tribe. In the midst of the chaos, a
young teacher is forced to put two and two together no matter how high the
cost to rid the village of the treacherous man-beast who thrives on
destruction and terror.

The Dogman, a creature of
MythMichigan, is an excellent example of modern-day folklore to
study in your classes.

New
Teachers' Niche:
A Place for New Teachers, Student Teachers, and Interns

Student
Biographies And Interviewing

Our biography project begins with careful
planning long before the actual class implementation. The first
step is to set up the access to information. We arrange our time
with our local librarian so she's well aware of the project
expectations. She always thinks of details we need, and she's
really good about setting out autobiography/biography books and
materials for us.

The students each check out an autobiography/biography book from the
library. I require teacher's permission and approval before check out.
I do allow students to use outside books, but they must still be
brought in to be approved.

We allow students to 'test drive' the books for a one-week span. If
the subject is just too boring or awful for the student, I do allow
them to change books (though the due date stays the same!) The most
important aspect to me is the reading of the book; we'll take time
every day during the project to quiet read in the classroom. I want to
stress the importance of the reading of biographical text, since it's
much different than the fictional works they normally read.

You can also skip ahead of the reading of the book and move right into
the fact finding session. If you have internet access and an updated
encyclopedia you can find most or even all of the facts abut your
subject. But make sure your students are reading the books too. This
is important to get an overall, rounded-view of their character. Be
careful that your students have chosen biographies and not historical
fiction or the various 'diary' books out there now!

This next step is to identify what information you want your students
to find about their subject. We call this our 'fact-finding' stage. We
complete a note taking sheet which organizes the students' research.
You can find a copy of our 'fact-finding' worksheet on our website.
There are basic facts to find such as personal and family information,
employment, and education.

Then there are the facts which must be uncovered, such as mentors they
had, who they have influenced, their impact on society, and why
they'll be remembered in history. Lastly, I'll have students complete
several short writing assignments extending the new knowledge.
Sometimes students create interview questions and formulate fictional
answers based on what they think the person would say. Another idea is
to create a fictional conversation with that person which is held
around a dinner table or around a campfire. There are many
applications you can create to use the students' facts.

Finally, you need to consider what the students will do with their
completed research. We have had students create PowerPoint documents
and give in-class presentations. We have had them create posters to
display their findings. This year we're putting our research onto each
student's website along with any multi-media that is available to us
(such as clip art, photos, audio and/or video clips).

Most years, we will have students pair up and interview each other.
Students find out personal information about each other, such as basic
family and friends, schools and education, and where they've lived.
They pose questions on likes/dislikes, favorites, and goals for the
future. You can go ahead and create a short sheet of sample questions,
then allow students to create their own as the interview goes on (also
check out our website for a FREE printable copy of the interview sheet
we use in class). Allow each student about 10-15 minutes to ask
questions and write down answers, then have students trade roles.

Now you have enough information to create student biographies (or give
the data sheets to the owners and have students create
autobiographies). We will write these up in a narrative form to tell a
life story, but we've also done projects like PowerPoints, web pages,
and posters. One favorite is cutting out t-shirt shapes out of paper
and having students write on them and decorate them with photos,
drawings, and clip art. These are then presented to the class and hung
in the hallways.

The biography project is not only required in our curriculum, but it
is also fun for the students. It is also a great means of
incorporating an informational text (non-fiction) into your class
curriculum.

Be sure to check out our website for the FREE teacher Who-I-Want-To- Be
plan and other great Freebies for new teachers. Simply click the
following link: http://www.starteaching.com/free.htm

Be sure to check out our website for more great
information, tips, and techniques for new teachers,
student-teachers, and interns in teacher prep programs. Also be
sure to check out our Who-I-Want-To-Be teacher plan for
preparing yourself to enter the educational profession. Simply
click the following link: http://www.starteaching.com/free.htm

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School or District Who Would Love to Receive Our Newsletter?

Be sure to
pass along our website and newsletter!

"Is Packaging Important
To You?"Author Unknown

Themes
on Life

How are our blessings
packaged?

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many
months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's
showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him
that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his
father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his
graduation, his father called him into his private study. His
father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told
him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped
gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened
the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young
man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his
father and said, "With all your money you give me a
Bible?" He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in
business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but
realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go
to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before
he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him
his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to
his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of
things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret
filled his heart. He began to search through his father's
important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left
it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn
the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of
the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer
who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of
his graduation, and the words….."PAID IN FULL".

How many times do we miss blessings because they are not packaged
as we expected? Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you
have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the
things you only hoped for.

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An addition game for two players.
Only the numbers 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 can be used and each
number can be used only once. The player who goes first is not allowed
to begin the game with the middle square. The goal of the game is to be
the first one to get three digits in a row either vertically,
horizontally, or diagonally where two of the digits can be added to
equal the third digit.The
order of the digits in the row is of no importance.

Day 3

There
are two numbers. Their sum is 15. Their difference is 3. What are the
two numbers?

Day 4

What
is the number if
you multiply by 1 and then subtract 5 and it is -3?

Day 5

What
is the
number if you divide by 9 and then subtract 2 and it is -1?

Day 6

What
is the
number if you subtract 8 and then subtract -7 and it is -3?

Day 7

What
is the number if you multiply by 33 and then subtract -88 and it is
1309?

Day 8

Some fifth graders at
Logan
School
took a survey asking students whether they felt a lot of worry, a little
worry, or no worry. The survey showed that 1/5 felt a lot of worry, 1/2
felt a little worry, and 3/10 felt no worry. There were 9 students that
felt no worry. How many students took the survey?

Day 9

A
basket contains 5 apples. Do you know how to divide them to 5 kids so
that each one has an apple and one apple stays in the basket?

Solution:
4 kids get an apple (one apple for each one of them) and the fifth kid
gets an apple with the basket still containing the apple.

Day 10

Using
four sevens (7) and a one (1) create the number 100. Except the five
numerals you can use the usual mathematical operations (+, -, x, :),
root and brackets